Copyright 2003, The Write Exposure

Offering your email newsletter in HTML frequently results in higher subscribe rates, greater reader recognition and impressive ROI. That is, if they're done right. Done wrong, your reader may suffer broken links, missing images, or worse.

To take advantage of best HTML has to offer, your HTML will need to be error-free. Fortunately, that's not as complicated as it sounds. While constructing and testing HTML newsletters, we've found six steps that eliminate about 99% of all HTML errors. You can do them yourself or look for a company that offers HTML email testing.

1. Perhaps easiest way to avoid HTML problems is to offer a plain text version separately (depending on your distribution system this may mean setting up two separate lists). Though many email distribution systems do allow you to send both your plain text and html versions in one message, technology behind multi-part MIME can create problems with older email programs.

Because email programs vary, sending both versions of your newsletter in one message may actually create more problems than it solves (readers may see both versions, HTML may become garbled, etc). Though maintaining separate lists is a little more work, you'll wind up with a newsletter that's consistently delivered correctly, because your readers choose version that's best suited to them.

2. Write your HTML code by hand. Though WYSIWYG editors (like FrontPage and DreamWeaver) make quick work of HTML design, they're also notorious for adding unnecessary codes.

Excess code presents two potential problems. First, it bloats file size which results in longer download times for your readers. Second, these excess codes can confuse email programs which tend to be less forgiving of HTML errors than are typical web browsers.

3. Preview your HTML newsletter in a web browser often. Watching results of your coding in a browser is easiest way to catch HTML errors as they occur. You can use whatever browser you're most comfortable in, but remember each has its own idiosyncrasies and isn't identical to an email program.

By checking on your progress regularly, you'll also ensure newsletter looks way you want it to look. This saves you from going through all steps only to discover your newsletter looks nothing like you'd planned.

If you haven't read (part 1), please go here: http://www.smartads.info/articles/le/10.html _________________________________________________

TO AUTOMATE OR NOT TO?

For those of you who are trying to figure out if you should use an automated link promoter or just simply doing everything yourself:

Linking softwares are great (not really) I've tried 2 programs myself, and I must say that both attempts were a disaster! Now i'm not saying that eventually that there will be a perfect software out there to promote your link exchange program.

Right now, here are some of problems

- The links that you will find are not relavant to your site's content.

- Some links tend to be "Link Farms" that only harm your search engine performance.

- You'll tend to get millions of porn sites!

and so on... ---------------------------------------------------

Here's a method that holds very strong when I look for link partners:

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When I find a great resource that has similar content to my site, I will browse through their ENTIRE "Resourceful Links" listed on their site and see if It's a good idea to link to them!

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Here's another method of doing this effectively for best results:

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If you happen to find a great resource, enter their entire "URL" in www.google.com.

What you need to look for is this: "Find web pages that link to www.this-site.com"

The Purpose Martin?

Once you click on "pages that link to that site" you will find sites that already have a great link program related to your site!

Take advantage of linking to all sites listed within that search on google!

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PLEASE TRY TO AUTOMATE YOUR LINK EXCHANGE PROGRAM!

It get's very fustrating for an entrepreneur like me who is trying to have a really good source of link exchanges, especially when I have to e-mail my companies information manually!

Try adding a "Mail Script" that takes link exchange information right from your site! You'll find that more sites will want to link to yours!

Here's an example of what your form should ask:

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1) Full Name: Martin Lemieux

2) WebSite URL: http://www.smartads.info

3) Title: Smartads.Info :: Marketing & Advertising Centre

4) Description: (250 characters or less)